


Equality, Now.

by half_sleeping



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-26
Updated: 2012-05-08
Packaged: 2017-11-04 08:45:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/391960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/half_sleeping/pseuds/half_sleeping
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SPOILERS for the events of episode 4. </p><p>Asami with all the best of intentions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Asami hears about the assault on the Dragonflats trainees, her hands shake in anger. Her father comes from that area, and Asami will never forget hearing about his struggle and their pain, lowest of the low, prey for the worst of the city’s scavengers. They have nothing, less than nothing, and benders will even try to take that away from them. Even the lowliest bender is better than anyone who can’t defend themselves against his power.

She’s been there. She’s seen it. The look in her father’s eyes, watching ghosts chase themselves across the street. Seen Triad men swagger up the street like they own the place, and known they practically do. They’d lined up to learn chi-blocking, hope dawning in their faces. Amon had given them that hope. Asami had found the money for that place, and gladly. It only took a little to change someone’s life for the better. Just something to do rather than throw all your money at the triads and hope they didn’t decide to also take your life.

But benders won’t even let them keep that.

Even their precious Avatar is no better than a thug.

.0.

_“Thanks, you know- for the sponsorship, and- I wasn’t very polite, when we first-“_

_“You had a lot on your mind. I was glad to do it. Mako’s been working so hard.”_

_“He has. Um. You make a great couple. Really good-looking.”_

_“Thank you. That’s- flattering. I think.”_

_“Oh, you know what I mean. I-I’d like us to be friends.”_

_Sweetly, shyly. Those clear, guileless eyes, and the unexpectedly easy smile._

_“I’d like that.”_

.0.

It hadn’t been about the Avatar, not at the beginning. Not about her, and not about people like the Fire Ferrets, people who put their bending to _good_ use, to proper use, to the running of the city and an honest day’s work. Not about Mako, sweet and strong, not about Bolin, wide-eyed and innocent.

Asami had just wanted to defend herself, and to do good. To see justice done. Protect the weak. Disable the oppressors. Amon had been less of a messiah then, more of a teacher. Though his mask was forbidding, his voice was kind, and his message intoxicating.

“Equality now!” Asami hears at the rally, one faceless, voiceless roar. It thrums through her veins and up through the soles of her boots. She wishes that she could cheer with her mask on. There are so many of them. Amon is going to free them all. “Equality now! WE WANT EQUALITY NOW!”

.0.

_“I mean, he tried to give me a car. How weird is that? I don’t even drive. I have Naga.”_

_“I could teach you. And on something a lot faster than whatever councilman Tarrlok can scrounge up.”_

_“Wow, really? Asami, that’d be so cool.”_

_“Aren’t you glad you decided to be friends with me, then? Hmmmm?”_

_“I’ll say if you want me to. The day you hit Mako with that motorbike was a good day for all of us.”_

_“Especially for me.”_


	2. Chapter 2

It’s actually sort of amusing to note that the Avatar is much better than both the brothers, but Asami supposes it’s only to be expected.  Korra uses bending like breathing, the way someone will use their knee- and use it violently. After being pelted with the training projectiles once too often, she stalks off to the corner and lets loose a pillar of flame taller than she is. Mako looks vaguely, disapprovingly scandalized. The rush of dry heat bakes across Asami’s face. All temper, Amon had said. Quick and impatient and reckless, prime example of the way that benders think they can do anything. But she picked a fight with Triad members because they were threatening a helpless shopkeeper, Asami reminds herself. She can’t be all bad.

Mako looks over and asks again, silently, if she isn’t too bored watching them practice. Asami smiles and he blushes, adorably. Why wouldn’t she want to watch them practice? She’s a huge fan, and someone has to protect their investment. It’s no hardship to watch her boyfriend get all sweaty and worked up doing what he does best. And Korra will, Mako finds, take criticism a little better if it doesn’t ever come from him more than twice in an hour, which is what another practiced eye and Asami’s diplomatic skills will do for them.

Bolin is the easiest out of all of them to overcome. He’ll still be shooting at the end of a long set, but only if nothing takes him out or surprises him. He hasn’t learned much from being taken by them once, or he isn’t applying it in the ring. Take his leg- always attack an earthbender’s legs first- and topple the bender.

Given multiple opponents, Mako will always wait to defend or dodge something from them rather than disable the closest outright. It’s easy to overwhelm his defenses with more than he’s expecting. He would never blast that pillar of flame to make sure that no one could get into contact with him. Mako is too controlled for that; he waits, and watches when he should already be striking. He watches out for Bolin and Korra too, without really realizing it. Keep his companions too close for him to ignore. Then divide, and conquer.

Asami rests her head on her hands and watches openings bloom in Korra’s bending and wither as she reacts. Korra has the all-round awareness from fighting multiple opponents trained at working together. Asami has heard the breakdown of the confrontation at the island. If Amon had brought less than all their best, she wouldn’t have gone so easily- but that is the best strength that non-benders have. There are more of us, and we cannot be stopped from helping each other.

There’s the heartbeat of hesitation at the end of a long combo, where the pause at end of a kata should be, the punches that Korra will always throw herself behind wholeheartedly without waiting to see if she should. There- numb her hand, and take her whole side while she struggles to recover. Sweep out the back ankle while she’s occupied to her diagonal- but only the diagonal, wholly out of her field of vision- and kick out the knee; it leaves her whole back open and inviting for strikes.

“You’ll be unbeatable in the ring!” Asami tells them.

They accept she’s probably right. Asami tells them, laughing, beautiful, that she always is.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> O, man. You guys get one more ficlet of this, and then I'm going to have to stop speculating on equalist!Asami because it's BREAKING MY HEART.

The Avatar’s polarbear-dog doesn’t like her. It sniffs her hand under protest, snarling, and backs away, tail between its legs. Korra looks surprised, but Asami is beating herself up that she never noticed this as a problem.

It is stupid. Careless. She isn’t wearing her uniform any more, but the beast can smell the Equalist who faced her to buy time for their fellows to get away. Naga is an excellent tracker. _Stupid_.

“Naga, no. Asami is a friend. A friend!” says Korra. “Asami, I don’t-“

She smiles at Korra, sweetly, sheepishly. “Maybe it’s my perfume?” Asami offers. “She might not like it, or I put on so much because I was at the track before this, and it’s too much for her.”

She offers her wrist to Korra to smell, who obediently sniffs it- fifty yuan a bottle, and delicious- and says “No, she’s had worse smells. It smells perfectly nice. Naga, _friend_.”

Smiling hopefully, Asami offers her other hand, run over the back of Mako’s neck as she met them after they scattered from training. She’d only wanted to ruffle his gorgeous head, but this is lucky. This one gets a better reception; against her instincts, but faced with the evidence, Naga accepts that Asami is indeed a friend.

“There you go, girl,” Korra says, petting Naga extravagantly. “Now she knows your smell.”

Asami beams again and presses herself against Korra, hooks in her arm. Naga calms a bit more. Nothing has alerted Korra. For now, Asami is safe. “It’s nice to meet new friends,” Asami coos.

 

.0.

 

_“-Bolin, stop kissing the floor! You’re exaggerating. You’re not dead.”_

_“Boys, boys. Mako, you can come out from that seat any time you feel ready.”_

_“You two are just embarrassing yourselves.”_

_“I think it’s excellent how you’re adapting to Republic City, Korra.”_

_“I don’t see why you ride a moped when you’ve got these babies, you know.”_

_“Different tools for different jobs….or in this case, these cars are for racing. I can’t race all the time.”_

_“I don’t see why not.”_ _And Korra wouldn’t see, not Korra, who might as well put a neon sign on screaming AVATAR every time she goes out on Naga. But like this, bubbling with happiness, eyes sparkling, Asami can forgive her that._

_Asami can forgive her anything, so young, and wild, and free._

 

.0.

 

(Here’s the thing about being Mako’s girlfriend and also Asami Sato: you get to wander around the pro-bending arena, giggling a little, clutching a stack of uniforms, holding a few boxes, wander through with one or two burly guys at her heels, also carrying boxes. With Pabu on her shoulder, Asami can pretty much get in anywhere.

If you can backflip down three flights of stairs, it’s actually pretty easy to get up to the huge glass roof and wander among the metal frames.

Most pro-benders won’t train without padding because they can’t risk an injury in the lead up to matches, but they _will_ strip off to warm up or cool down.

If you were, say, scouting and preparing for the hijacking of a public event, it’s pretty easy to get things done.

Lots of little things. Pretty good things.

 _Soon_.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too late.

 

 _You have to come_ is spilling out of her mouth almost before Mako and Korra both slam fistfuls of fire up and out towards her, even faster than Bolin’s momentary, heart-breaking recoil, before Asami reaches up and rips off the mask, all her unbound hair spilling free over her shoulders, shakes it out.

“You have to come,” she says, and when they don’t say anything, says it again. “You have to come. They’re- _we’re_ planning to overrun Air Temple Island.”

“We?” says Korra.

“Equalist,” Mako flings like an accusation.

“Pema!” says Korra, light and horror dawning as one. “The kids!”

“I brought the car,” Asami says. “We have to go now, hurry!”

“Why Air Temple Island?” Mako says when they’re in the car, and Bolin says, finding his tongue at last, “ _That’s_ your question? Why _Asami_?”

“I’m an Equalist,” says Asami, then takes a turn. Mako has taken the backseat and now has to deal with a heavy Bolin careening across the small space of the car and flattening them to the window. Korra had taken shotgun without hesitation, which, Asami supposes, says everything. “I’m sorry,” she adds. “I only just came from the meeting, it was hard to get away, and- I didn’t know they were planning to take Air Temple Island, they want the Airbenders. All the Airbenders.”

“Was it hard to be a _spy_?” demands Mako, and Asami looks up and meets his eyes, furious and hot, in the mirror. Bolin makes unhappy, disbelieving noises, like a puppy left alone in the house. Asami hasn’t looked at Korra’s face since they got into the car.

“I’m sorry,” Asami says again, because it’s important that he knows.

“Talk later,” Korra says. “Drive now.”


End file.
